PG&E gas leak fix reopens Riverside, Cirby intersection

The intersection of Riverside Avenue and Cirby Way reopened to drivers Wednesday after Pacific Gas & Electric repaired an underground gas leak. But the leak forced 1,180 nearby customers – commercial and residential – to go without gas Tuesday night, including 430 whose service has not been restored yet.
"We apologize for the inconvenience and we appreciate our customers' patience as we work as quickly and safely as possible to restore gas service," PG&E spokesperson Brian Swanson said. The cause is still under investigation, he said.
The company discovered the leak Monday night after customers began to report their gas had stopped flowing, Swanson said. For most of Tuesday, it closed down traffic at the busy intersection near an entrance to Interstate 80 for repairs.
As PG&E worked to plug the 4-inch pipe, it gradually lost pressure, until gas stopped reaching 1,180 homes and businesses. The company then called in 100 employees from Stockton to Chico to go door-to-door, manually shutting off gas valves so that it could restore pressure and service, according to Swanson.
Once it was safe, the employees again went door-to-door restoring service where customers were present, and, in the case of 430 customers who were absent, leaving notes on how to contact PG&E.
~ Staff report